Featured Commentary category, Page 4
Noah Feldman: The Supreme Court’s silence on gay marriage speaks volumes
The Supreme Court has declined to hear a case brought in an effort to persuade the justices to reconsider the court’s landmark 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, Obergefell v. Hodges. This latest decision is best read as a signal that the conservative majority has little interest in revisiting gay marriage....
Jason Kavulich and Bill Johnston-Walsh: Standing up for Pa.’s family caregivers
Every November, a quiet yet profound tribute unfolds across the nation: National Family Caregivers Month. While we celebrate many professions and contributions, this observation, long championed by AARP Pennsylvania and the Department of Aging, is for the over 63 million Americans who provide unpaid care to a family member or...
Destenie Nock: Heat or hope — what happens when energy aid freezes before winter
There are life-and-death consequences for millions of households as a result of the ongoing government shutdown. Every fall, millions of families wait for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to begin aid distribution so they can manage their energy bills. This year, that wait is stretching into winter. Because...
Panini A. Chowdhury: Can America afford to fear her own cities?
Can America truly thrive while its cities are under siege — not only from political neglect like Electoral College and recent gerrymandering attempts, but from a spreading narrative of fear? This isn’t merely a partisan issue. It’s an economic, social and existential one. Our urban centers are the beating heart...
Halie Kampman, Brian King, Glenn Sterner, Kristina P. Brant and Maya Weinberg: Pa. counties face tough choices on spending $2B opioid settlement funds
In communities across Pennsylvania, local officials are deciding how to spend over $2 billion from the state’s opioid settlement agreements. For many, the task is proving promising yet challenging — and raises questions about how to best navigate complex local needs. Pennsylvania will receive the money over 18 years from...
Jason Anthony: Google search ruling a win for small businesses in Pa., across country
This fall, after a years-long antitrust battle, a federal judge rejected the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request that he force Google to break apart its integrated search tools. Many high-profile commentators called the decision a disappointment, but I saw it as a major win for small businesses. Let me explain....
Danny Tyree: Can we talk sensibly about Veterans Day
“Write something sensible.” I’m finishing this column on the first anniversary of my mother’s passing, and I can still hear her cajoling me to cater to her down-to-earth tastes. Her funny bone was unpretentious. She could laugh at pratfalls on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” or a tyke’s witticisms on “Kids...
Mark Z. Barabak: Nancy Pelosi prided herself on cold calculation. She knew it was time.
When Nancy Pelosi first ran for Congress, she was one of 14 candidates, the front-runner and a target. At the time, Pelosi was little known to San Francisco voters. But she was already a fixture in national politics. She was a major Democratic fundraiser who helped lure the party’s 1984...
Rev. Richard Cizik: Good Christians can disagree with Trump
“If I am not for myself, then who will be there for me? And if I am for myself only, who am I? And if not now, when?” These words from the famous Rabbi Hillel the Elder guided Jewish life at the time of King Herod. Now, they represent a...
Sheldon H. Jacobson: NBA quality players on a college team are not sufficient to make noise in the NCAA Tournament
A new college basketball season is beginning. For every team, their 30-plus schedule of games is certain to produce some surprises. Yet every fan hopes their team will have what it takes to make some noise in March. Rankings are certainly informative. But is there a more reliable way to...
Christine Flowers: Malala’s message should echo to the White House
There are a few people in the world who are instantly recognizable with just one name: Madonna, Beyonce and Rihanna come to mind, as do fellow performers Cher, Elvis, Prince, Bono and Sting. The same is true for Malala. I have known about this brave young woman from the moment...
Martin Schram: Dick Cheney — reflecting on the unseen
The president’s chief of staff was talking with aides outside his president’s waiting motorcade when he spotted me — and immediately began walking purposefully toward me for what figured to be one of those tough, and probably angry, confrontations. Reporters know we can expect that when what we have written...
Rep. Greg Vitali: Don’t trade away climate regulations
Canceling regulations to enter Pennsylvania in the Regional Green House Gas Initiative (RGGI) is now under consideration in commonwealth budget negotiations. Participation in RGGI is the most important thing Pennsylvania can do right now to combat climate change. Gov. Josh Shipiro and Pennsylvania House Democratic leaders should refuse to support...
David Williams: Pennsylvania lawmakers should reject ill-advised online gaming tax increase
Pennsylvania recently surpassed stalwarts like Nevada and New Jersey to become the national leader in online gaming. But now, Keystone State lawmakers are proposing a tax increase that could reverse that growth and drive the industry underground into the black market. With tax rates of 36% for sports betting and...
Christine Flowers: The problem with unwanted ballrooms
“He did WHAT to the East Wing?” If someone called me up at work and said “I knocked down half of your house and will be installing a pool in your backyard as well as a gazebo at no charge to you,” I would be apoplectic. The idea a stranger...
Kellie Walenciak: How to stay informed without being consumed
My father had a simple ritual. At 6 a.m., he would read the New York Post and Daily News cover to cover. At 6 p.m., he tuned into the evening news — an hour of straightforward reporting, not commentary. He formed his own opinions, and then he moved on. The...
Rosa Prince: King Charles destroys his brother over Epstein. America dithers
Born into unimaginable luxury and showered with honors, the man formerly known as His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York will henceforth be addressed as plain old Mr. Mountbatten Windsor. It’s a stunning fall. The second, apparently favorite, son of Queen Elizabeth II has not only lost his many...
Matthew Yglesias: Doom-scrolling is a vice. Tax it like cigarettes
Americans are reading less, sleeping less and partying less. We have fewer marriages, fewer children and fewer friends than we used to. Our children are doing worse in school. These are complicated phenomena on some level, but on another level it’s pretty simple: Smartphones, social media and the internet are...
John T. Shaw: Johns Hopkins scholar shows that knowing history is invaluable to statesmanship
Winston Churchill, the towering British statesman who served as prime minister during World War II, was once asked by an American student how to become a successful leader. Churchill’s advice: “Study history, study history. In history lie all the secrets of statecraft.” Frank Gavin, a professor at the Johns Hopkins...
Point: U.S. needs a Strategic Minerals Reserve
Five decades after the creation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the wake of the Arab oil embargo, the United States is facing a new threat to its economic, energy and national security that calls for similarly decisive action: the weaponization of mineral supply chains by China. The time has...
Counterpoint: With mineral stockpile, oversight and innovation are critical, not stock ownership
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently announced plans to expand the national stockpile of minerals such as lithium and rare earths needed in the production of renewable energy technologies and military weapons. This is nothing new; the U.S. government has stockpiled minerals for decades. What is new is that the government...
Kenneth Zagacki and Richard Cherwitz: The challenges of presidential Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speeches
Having brokered what appears to be a groundbreaking ceasefire leading to a longer-term Middle East peace settlement, supporters of President Donald Trump, and the president himself, are lobbying the Nobel committee to bestow a 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Trump. Whether next year’s committee honors him may depend less on...
Meredith Sumpter: Election reform turns down the temperature of our politics
Politics isn’t working for most Americans. Our government can’t keep the lights on. The cost of living continues to rise. Our nation is reeling from recent acts of political violence. Seventy percent of voters say the U.S. is in a political crisis, and 64% say our political system is too...
Wanda Wilson and Reps. Arvind Venkat and Mandy Steele: Why solar power makes sense for Pittsburgh area schools
The school year is well underway here in Pittsburgh, and students are learning new things every day. But one thing remains the same: the rising cost of electricity here and all across Pennsylvania. This could leave some school districts facing tough decisions on how to prioritize expenses and looking for...
Robin Abcarian: Virginia Giuffre spent half her life fighting for justice against Epstein
If there’s one takeaway from Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, it’s that the unrepentant child trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s partner in crime, should never, ever be considered for the pardon or commutation that President Trump has hinted at. This is not to downplay the importance of the moving story Giuffre...
